The First Four
by Wandering Letters
Summary: Everyone in the group knows the tension between Ulrich Stern and Yumi Ishiyama. On a relaxed day where XANA miraculously doesn't attack the world, Aelita decides to take matters into her own hands to finally make the stubborn couple stop beating around the bush. UlrichxYumi. T just to be safe. Oneshot.


**(A/N): This is probably one of the projects I've wanted to tackle ever since I started writing fanfiction. Code Lyoko to this day remains one of my all-time favorite shows and it was one of those where I would get home, flip Cartoon Network on for Miguzi and tell my parents to not bother me for an hour. After rewatching the series recently, I got a huge burst of inspiration and I decided to whip this up. As you can probably tell, I support the main pairings of the show in YumixUlrich and AelitaxJeremy. I will say however that I absolutely dreaded Code Lyoko Evolution and I only stuck through it to get the end of the story. HATED that they made it live action.**

**Here's the first of these because I plan on doing one for each. I hope you guys enjoy; I've been meaning to write this for a very long time but just didn't feel confident enough till now.**

**Please! Read and review! It helps me tremendously when you guys give me feedback!**

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><p><strong>EDIT: I accidentally uploaded the wrong document everyone. There was a few things missing from the other version. I'm so sorry! Please reread if you haven't noticed it!<strong>

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><p><strong>The First Four<strong>

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><p><strong>Kadis Academy- Ulrich and Odd's Room<strong>

"Everything okay there champ?"  
>"I guess so,"<p>

Ulrich flipped the page of the book he was reading.

"Anything planned for the day?"  
>"Sleeping, unless Jeremy needs us on Lyoko," replied Ulrich.<p>

Odd shook his head

"When are you gonna wise up and talk to Yumi?" he asked.

Ulrich rolled his eyes and as usual, dismissed Odd's repetitive question with a scoff.

"She's all you think about and you and I both know that she's not gonna be on the market forever," he said shrugging.

Ulrich continued to read, pretending to ignore his best friend but every single syllable struck home. He sighed inwardly to himself as Odd put on his shirt.

"Anyway, I'm gonna go work on my next short film," he said.  
>"Who's helping you this time?" asked Ulrich.<br>"Lily and Sissy," he replied.

Ulrich raised an eyebrow.

"You got Sissy to help you?" he asked.  
>"Believe it or not, air isn't the only thing occupying that head of hers and she actually knows a thing or two about video editing," he said.<p>

He shrugged again.

"Plus she's doing all the makeup for it while Lily's the one holding the camera," he explained.

Ulrich chuckled as Odd rubbed Kiwi's head.

"See you later," he said with a wave.

Ulrich nodded as he left the room. Finally rid of his friend's presence, Ulrich dropped the utterly boring book in his hand and stared towards the ceiling. He knew that Odd was right about everything he said thus far and even though he knew that Yumi at least acknowledged his feelings, he still wasn't completely sure; they fought and turned off and on so often that it was difficult to put a label on what they had. He sighed deeply as he thought back to some of the golden times he had with the Japanese beauty who he undeniably fell for a long time ago.

The moment in Lyoko when they almost kissed each other before going back in time was still a vivid image in his head as well as all of the tight spots they got into together, such as the broiler room and when a tree fell on Yumi and Ulrich thought her dead. He couldn't think of a time when he was more terrified than that moment. Even though they always got along well, he couldn't help but feel threatened by the presence of Willian Dunbar. Though they didn't particularly dislike each other, Ulrich just couldn't bring himself to try very hard when William interrupted most of his times. He would never forget the day he followed Yumi home only to see William holding her chin and almost kissing her.

That was a memory that burned him for a very long time.

"_Sometimes…I really wonder if it makes sense to wait for something to happen anymore…"_

His cellphone going off broke him from his thoughts. He brought it to his ear without even bothering to look at the caller ID.

"_Ulrich?"_

The voice was unmistakably Aelita's.

"What's up Aelita?" he asked.  
><em>"Are you in your room at the moment?"<em> she asked.  
>"Yeah why?" he asked.<br>_"Yumi Is here and she left her phone this morning…and she was looking for you,"_ she explained.

Ulrich swallowed hard.

"Well you can tell her where I am then," he said.  
><em>"Alright I'll send her over there,"<em> she said.

Ulrich was about to move the phone from his ear until Aelita made a sound half-way between a scoff and a laugh.

"What's so funny?" he asked.  
><em>"I'm sorry Ulrich, Jeremy just told me a joke and I couldn't help myself,"<em> she replied.

He sighed deeply.

"_Yumi looks really bothered though…so can you try to cheer her up?"_ asked Aelita.

Ulrich knew that Aelita always had the interests of others ahead of her own and even in the middle of something like this, she was looking out for Yumi. Undeniably, Yumi was her closest friend next to Jeremy who was essentially her boyfriend and it made sense for her to call him out of concern for her.

"I'll do my best," he replied.

With a soft giggle, the phone cut off. Ulrich rose to his feet and clothed himself appropriately as he waited for Yumi to arrive at his door.

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><p><strong>Fifteen Minutes Later<strong>

A loud knock on the door broke Ulrich from his train of thought. He took a breath as he opened it to see the girl of his thoughts, Yumi Ishiyama.

"Hi…am I bothering you?" she asked.  
>"Not at all," he said moving aside.<p>

She entered the room as he shut the door back and locked it.

"Where's Odd?" she asked.  
>"Doing work," he replied.<p>

Yumi's eyes widened.

"Odd…is _actually_ trying to do **homework**?" she asked.

Ulrich chuckled softly.

"I guess there's a first time for everything," he replied.

She laughed softly at his joke as she sat on his bed. Ulrich took a seat on the desk chair, never once removing his eyes from her.

"So what's up?" he asked.

Yumi was silent for a few moments before she turned back to him with a smile.

"It's been a while since we've just…hung out," she replied.

He nodded in agreement; 70% of the time they had together was avoiding a random attempted murder by XANA and getting out by a hair.

"I guess…I've just missed you," she said.

Much to his surprise, she was blushing even though she looked away from him. He smiled and blushed as well.

"I've missed you too Yumi," he replied.

He could see that his words affected her as the shade turned deeper. He rose from the chair and joined her on the bed but ignored his instinct to put his hand on hers; he still respected what she said before when she wanted them to be just friends. She looked at him for a moment before looking at the ground.

"I…I want to know something," she said.

He raised an eyebrow as she moved a strand of hair from her face.

"Why do you feel so threatened by anyone who gets near me?" she asked.

Ulrich could feel anger rising within him but her eyes didn't radiate an argumentative context. They instead truly wanted to understand what was going on beneath the surface. He swallowed hard as he leaned back to the wall.

"Would it be corny if I said that I think they're all ahead of me?" he asked.

She looked at him with surprise but laughed softly. He rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"What makes you think that?" she asked.

He looked to the window for a moment before looking to the ground.

"William's a lot more forward than I could ever be…and everyone else isn't so threatened by me," he replied.

She immediately caught what he was saying; he felt like he didn't have an effect on her and every time someone else did something, she would applaud or just show respect. What she called respect was what Ulrich interpreted to be liking. She smiled and shook her head.

"I wouldn't be so sure…did you ever stop to think that **you're** ahead of them?" she asked.

He looked at her with confusion but she giggled softly.

"You risk your life for me every day we go to Lyoko…you always try to be there for me even when I'm being dense and stupid…if you think any of the others guys are ahead of you when you do that then you really are an idiot," she said with a pleasant smile.

His face turned beet red at her words as she looked to the ground again.

"…I know I can be a little blind when I'm just being respectful to everyone else but…I'm the one that said that we shouldn't go any further than where we are," she said.

Her eyes narrowed as a few tears began to form.

"The truth is…I'm scared," she explained.  
>"Of what?" he asked.<br>"XANA's almost killed all of us more times than I can count…and every time one of us gets into danger I become so terrified of losing them that…" she continued.

He could feel the weight of the words in her chest as he scooted closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder. Much to his surprise, she flung her arms around his neck and embraced him. He smiled to himself as he returned the gesture.

"I…I don't want to lose you Ulrich…when you get hurt it terrifies me the most out of anyone…I become so scared that it paralyzes me sometimes," she explained.

He shook his head as he brought his head back to face her.

"I'm not going anywhere Yumi…and I'm not gonna let anything happen to you either," he said.

He held one of her hands and squeezed firmly.

"XANA's gonna have to kill me before he gets to you," he said.

He took a breath as his eyes narrowed.

"I'm also sorry for being so...possessive," he began.

He let out a sigh.

"And I guess I'm a little too sulky sometimes...so I'll try to do better...I promise," he said.

The determination he had about anything he did was one of the things Yumi loved most about him. She also knew how nice and kind of a person he was beneath his bad boy exterior and even though he certainly had a temper at times…she couldn't deny that she had felt strongly for the brunette Lyoko warrior for a long time. In fact…he was the only one who she felt for this way.

She looked down as she placed her head on his chest. His hand moved from her back to her head, gently rubbing and playing with her hair. She absolutely loved the way he could make her spine shiver from just touching her and even though they had moments in the past, she never had one quite like this. She never had a lot of time with him and if she did, they were too busy trying to stay alive rather than to actually bond.

She clenched her fists as she looked up but much to her surprise, his eyes instantly locked onto hers. He didn't appear nervous or shy but he instead….was smiling.

"I guess I'll just come out and be honest," he said.

He raised one of her hands in both of his.

"I...love you Yumi," he said.

Her eyes began to fill with tears once again as she let out a soft sob. She wiped her eyes with her sweater sleeve as she smiled at him.

"I love you too…Ulrich," she replied.

Ulrich half-expected XANA to launch an attack right that very second but the moment Yumi closed her eyes and began moving forward, he threw all doubt from his mind. He met her waiting lips and for the first time, it wasn't in a dream. He felt her arms encircle his head as he leaned back into the wall, allowing her to climb into his lap and press her body into his. He just couldn't get enough of her scent and her taste; he had longed for it for such a long time that it seemed almost criminal to not indulge in this bliss for every second that he could. She moved her head to the side and met his lips again, using one of her hands to cup his cheek. His hands automatically went to her waist, wrapping around it and pulling her nearer. She moaned softly at his touch and after a few more seconds, she broke away.

"You have…no idea how long I've wanted to do that," she whispered.  
>"Likewise," he replied.<p>

She smiled at him but much to their dismay, Ulrich's cellphone went off. He answered it, once again not paying attention to the caller ID. Yumi sighed audibly but once she felt Ulrich's arm around her hold firm, she turned back to see his rather serious face.

"What is it Sissy?" he asked.  
><em>"Sorry if I'm bothering you Ulrich…but I was wondering if you wanted to go to the concert with me tonight?"<em> she asked.

Ulrich's mouth turned into a half smile.

"Sorry…I'm not going out anywhere tonight," he replied.  
><em>"Why not?"<em> she demanded.

He looked at Yumi's eyes.

"Because I have much more important things in my hands," he replied.

He immediately hung up the phone and tossed it onto Odd's bed. Yumi's eyes widened.

"Why did you say no?" she asked.  
>"Didn't you hear what I just said?" he replied.<p>

She was silent for a brief moment and upon realizing it, she blushed profusely but smiled anyway. He pulled her into another kiss but it didn't last very long as Yumi's phone began to ring. Ulrich immediately laughed to himself; Aelita was a sly devil indeed; she planned the whole thing with a web of lies. She begrudgingly looked at the caller ID but shook her head.

"It's my dad," she said.

Ulrich nodded and turned away, expecting her to take the call but much to his astonishment, she clicked the ignore button and tossed the phone to join his on Odd's bed.

"But…won't you get in trouble?" he asked.  
>"You're a <strong>lot<strong> more important at the moment handsome," she whispered.

He had no objection as they kissed a third time, this time more passionately than the first two combined. The kiss began to get heated as Ulrich lost his overshirt and Yumi lost her sweater, revealing a black tanktop. Ulrich had no idea why it suddenly got so hot even though it was snowing outside and neither did Yumi. They continued their heated session until Ulrich broke away, panting softly as he heard a knock on the door. They immediately found the articles of clothing they discarded before replacing them. After Yumi took a seat on his bed, he opened the door to see Jeremy and Aelita.

"What's going on?" he asked.  
>"We were going to lunch and were wondering if you two would join us," replied Jeremy.<p>

He looked back at Yumi to see her smiling and blushing faintly. He turned back to them and shook his head.

"You guys go on, we'll catch up," he replied.

Jeremy looked on in astonishment but Aelita winked at Yumi beyond Ulrich's peripheral vision. She blushed profusely at her friend's gesture as they left. He turned back to Yumi as he picked up his phone to look at the clock. He couldn't believe that 45 minutes passed already.

"Hungry?" she asked.

He shrugged as he handed her phone to her.

"A little I guess," he replied.

He shoved his hands in his pockets as she rose to her feet. Before she could move however, he hand shot out and grabbed hers. He swallowed hard.

"So…are we still just friends?" he asked.

She smiled at him before leaning and kissing him a fourth time. After a few seconds, she moved away before ruffling his hair.

"Can we really say that after what we just did...and _almost_ did?" she asked.

He shook his head, his face now as red as hers.

"Then...I guess it's official," he said.

Yumi rolled her eyes as they left the room but unlike the other times, with their hands intertwined and her head on his shoulder. She noticed his smile creeping from his previously stunned expression. He turned to her before quickly pulling her into a final kiss. He knew he caught her completely off guard as he pulled away and saw how surprised she looked.

"Nope…not after the first four," he replied with a wink.


End file.
